Saluda County was named for the Saluda River, which forms one of
its borders. The county was established in 1895 from part of Edgefield
County. The Cherokee Indians lived in this area for many years. In 1755 they
signed a treaty with the British at their settlement, known as Saluda Old
Town. Scotch-Irish and English settlers subsequently began moving into the
area, while the Cherokees moved farther to the north. Two famous heroes of
the Alamo, William Barrett Travis (1809-1836) and James Butler Bonham (1807-1836)
were natives of what is now Saluda County.